He emanates a sense of security: he is gentle in his ways, firm in his principles, and clear in his concepts. The Attorney- General of the the High Supreme Court of Appeal of the Republic in Rome, Dr. Luigi Ciampoli, while answering questions will fix his gaze right into your eyes and penetrate his thoughts in what seems obvious to be the point of reference: values. He joined the magistrature way back in 1965. In Rome, Ciampoli had been working extensively as Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance; as Deputy Prosecutor he had conducted surveys on right-wing terrorist groups, notably “Avanguardia Nazionale” and Red Brigades (left-wing terrorist group). He has also been occupied on Mafia cases, and held first trial as Public Prosecutor in Italy relating to the handing out of European Community funds. Already Deputy Attorney-General (General Prosecutor) in the High Supreme Court of Appeal (Court of Cassasation) he has held trial as Public Prosecutor in the murder of Calvi and illegal funds handed out to the secret services. A man that descends from the old establishment, and who unfortunately are now rare to find. It is for this reason that we have chosen him as our first personality to be interviewed on our Sunday discussions, and we are honoured.
“Permit me to go back in time, to your emotions as a child. Do you remember your favourite toy?” “It used to ba a cardboard horse, and that time I dreamed of running against the wind. On other occasions I treated it as a towing horse attaching it behind a wheel-chair. I was four or five, but the memory is still vivid in my mind. And that passion is still alive. I love animals, and I have a weak spot for dogs and horses, we could say I find them very comunicative and this creates a special relationship. Whenever you give them your affection and attention, they always respond. The dog in turn responds with affection, even on receiving evilness from man. Both these animals embody two important concepts: freedom and loyalty “.
These are two powerful terms that bring to mind other two terms: Justice and State… “It was then I was born to become a magistrate. It was at my grandfather’s funeral, I was 9 years old and I promised to myself that I would become a magistrate. My grandfather was a lawyer and as a child, I grew up on his lap, when he used to receive his clients. He was a magistrate and advocate in a small village of Gargano.”
“This was the decisive moment, but then came my education which had to be overcome with passion… “I must say that my school life was that of a normal student, with ups and downs; I switched from being the best in my high school to be failed. A period that coincided with so-called ‘ growing up ‘ . Then at university, I took the “reins of accuracy and obstinacy ” in my studies. And then I did it all in one breath, starting with exemption from taxes for scholarships, and at the end, my thesis at the University of Naples, on penal legal proceedings was the best that time. A lot of preparation had to be done at the University, I had some great teachers, even in high school. ”
“You have mentioned “preparing”, don’t you think that in general, this is a weak point in modern society?” “ Quite a lot. Actually, there’s a saying in my region that goes ‘ the ‘dummy’s’ (idiot) conceited .”
“How do you reconcile your commitment as a man of the State with that of the family?” “The family is part of the fundamental values of the State. It is a part of life, but it is also a response of the citizen to integrate. The family teaches you how to contemplate necessities, to give affection, to urge it too, it teaches you to be patient, it is a challenge on yourself in the education of children, each of whom needs attention and exclusive communication.”
“You have been in the magistrature for approximately 50 years . How has it changed with time?” “A lot, but more than anything it has changed the way of conceiving the magistrate and the way of being a magistrate. At one stage, my career has witnessed a sharp rise in public’s approval of magistrates These were during the dark years of terrorism. That was a period of unrest, which heralded what was about to happen; the problem was not having being able to capture and understand those signals. Recently, unfortunately I have seen how approval towards magistrates has declined. The concept of intolerance towards state-authority has changed, as has changed the way of feeling as a magistrate. I donot agree on many modern concepts. For example, starting just from trivia, I don’t think you should go to the office without a collar and tie; quite a banality, I repeat, however, it demonstrates the approach that you should adopt when being part of an institution.
“How do you regard the justice reforms brought in?” “A sore spot! The judiciary must find harmony with the people on whose behalf it acts and adopts the measures, so it is everyone’s duty to do so. Foreign colleagues often ask me the difference between public prosecutors and judges; I replied that public prosecutors are erroneously referred to as the prosecution. Indeed, we need to brush up on the concept of defense as a representative of the community. The party has the right to be defended in his special interests, but the judiciary must have at heart the general interests of society. To introduce reforms, then, we need to know inside out how the judicial system works etc”
“There is a word that is especially dear to you: citizen.” “ It’s an essential part of the State. Let’s start from the French Revolution, “citizen” has been a discovery of democracy. It is the identification of the State through its components. If there were no citizens, then there would be no state. The citizen is not merely the executor: he creates, he participates and feels part of the whole. This concept can be compared to religion: as the soul participates in the universality of the concept of God, so the individual citizen has his own identity but is part of the whole.
“Speaking of terrorism, you mentioned that the ‘70 ‘s saw a ferment in terrorism which was underestimated. Today, between socio-economic tension and anger towards the institutions, can this not be considered a similar turmoil? In this way you shall be unveiling confidential information… Just not to be so vague, I can say that criminal activity has become increasingly immaginative, even in the best intentions of a State that wants to be ever present. I previously mentioned my paternal grandfather, now I shall recall my maternal grandfather who was a naval officer and spoke in these terms: he did not speak of ‘government’, but of the ‘father- government’. If we do not go back to the real concept of considering the government as an institution that can rescue us and take care of our interests, it is inevitable that –as a popular saying goes-the landlord who leaves his home unattended, will not notice when the thief breaks in. ”
And what can happen then? “You can spread terrorism not only by shooting in the streets but also by undermining the economic system of a country by attacking its currency and labour”.
Then we shall be under attack… “Partly yes. Corruption is spreading, but talking of this today you come up with answers like: ‘ What have I done? That ìs what everyone does anyway. I was basically offered money for something I would have done anyway… ‘ The point is that we are living in a society that has a majority of atheism of values “.
We speak about terrorism, but looking abroad… international terrorism is a reality and it is based on fanaticism, the latter being viral. It’s easy to pass it on because there is poverty in consciences. Fragile beings who need to be manipulated. And this shows how legitimate attention of the state should try to get there before criminal indoctrination does. ”
Should a magistrate come into your office today on his first day of work, what would you wish him? “To feel the weight of the responsibility he’s taking on: his job is to give answers to society and not to himself”.
“The Pope has proclaimed strong words, when talking about the fact that we could all be potential prisoners, in the sense that anyone can err… “Anyone can make mistakes, but have we ever heard speak with the same ardor, of victims made by the prisoners? Because if someone in there has killed someone out there he has deprived a family, not only condemning the person to lose his life but the family to lose the father figure, the supporter of the family. I would rather not see a visit to the prisoners in jail on 15th August, (not that they don’t deserve that for heaven’s sake!) but rather see the State put more attention on the victims.”